Back-Ups

Anything important on your computer? Anything you couldn’t afford to lose? The overwhelming answer is “of course there is.” I have been preaching backing up client data for more than two decades. I learned early with my first Mac (a Lisa), which was a tad unstable – I lost everything about once a week. When does this preaching work the best? After a client loses ten years of work, the only copy of a book they just finished writing, every photo of their two-year-old. For the common excuses and the easy solutions read on.Time Machine is incredibly easy-to-use backup software (It comes with Leopard, Snow Leopard and Lion). You still need a hard drive to back up your files! Have a talk with me about the size and kind of hard drive you need to stay backed up. If you are running a Mac, you should have an automatic backup to an external hard drive (which can be wired or wireless). Even if you can afford to lose it all, it will take less time to set up a new computer from a backup than from scratch.

Paranoid or Cautious: Ideally, I want all my precious data in four places. First, the internal drive, where it is used. Second, a Time Machine Backup. Third, a CLONE of my internal drive to a second external, typically using Carbon Copy Cloner. And finally, an online backup using Backblaze. This last costs about $60/year for one computer, backing up unlimited data. That seems like a lot of backing up, right? Well, online backups are also off-site backups, which can survive a local disaster like fire or theft. Time Machine backups are not bootable. Clone backups can be booted, but don't go back in time with older data in such a seamless way. And over time, backup systems tend to stop working, so redundancy often turns out to be not so redundant.

Why backup your computer data?

Simply put, backing up can mean the difference between a slight computer setback and living through your own electronic apocalypse.

I ask my clients: is there anything on your computer you cannot afford to lose? Your entire music collection? The only copy of the photos of your children? That book you have been writing for years? Computers aren’t perfect. Files become corrupt, motherboards malfunction, hard drives call it quits taking our precious data with them.

The best defense is data backup. Backing up data is vital for businesses; lost information can cause a major crisis or worse, lead to business failure. Individuals who don’t backup computer data run the same risk. While this may not cause financial ruin, it can certainly be frustrating and even heartbreaking. So why do so few of us practice data backup?

The Excuses:

“I don't know how to backup data.”
Like preparing for a natural disaster, most of us understand how important data backup is, but don’t know where to start.

“My computer won’t crash – it hasn't so far.”
The longer you have gone without losing data, the more likely you are to lose it soon. Computers are vulnerable to complete unrecoverable loss of data at any time.

I guide you through your options and make it painless and simple.